TM Overview of the Game Pyramids is a game for 2 to 5 players that sends you back in time to Ancient Egypt. Help your dynasty become resplendent and endure through the ages. Honor the great gods to obtain the most beautiful stones and construct the most dazzling necropolis. Contents KHEPRI HORUS THOTH Longest connection in eachThe color color present in the most stages 1 point/stone Stages 1 2 3 4 5 3 + + 5 Points 1 3 6 10 15 + 1 + + Longest connection 1 point/stone Most of each color BONUS: at least5 points one connection/color of 3 stones in each color 10 points + 2 points/correct glyph 4+ 105 Construction 5 God tiles (Horus, Anubis, cards 5 Player Aid Khepri, Sekhmet, Thoth) Cards 1 rulebook 1 First Player 1 scorebook token 1 Goal of the Game Which Egyptian dynasty will be the most glorious? Pray to the gods to construct edifices in their honor and ensure your dynasty has a millennia- long posterity. Your necropolis, a place of eternal sleep, and glory, will be made up of Pyramids, Obelisks, and Tombs. Select the best combination of stones in the quarry, optimize their layout, and make your necropolis the most famous in all of Egypt! The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Game Elements Construction cards Construction cards represent the materials with which you build the edifices of your necropolis. They have either 2 or 3 stones that come in five different colors: blue, white, red, green, or yellow. Certain Construction cards have a Glyph that represents a Pyramid, Obelisk, or Tomb and will be worth victory points at the end of the game if you place them correctly. Pyramid Obelisk Tomb 2 God Tiles God tiles have these different elements: Number Name of the god Reminder of SEKHMET construction rules 4 Symbol of the god + / Obelisk Pyramid 4+ Number of players Tomb These tiles represent the favors granted by the god you honor, showing you which edifice(s) you can build on your turn. HORUS ANUBIS Example God tile 1 allows you to place cards only in your 2 1 + Pyramid. However, God tile 2 allows you to place cards both in your Pyramid and your Tomb. Note: There is a Pyramid on every God tile. An Obelisk is only on tiles 3, 4, and 5. A tomb is only on tiles 2, 4, and 5 (see CLARIFIcatIONS OF GOD TILES page 8). 3 Setup 1 Choose the God tiles for 2 Place the God tiles in the the game according to the middle of the table, arranged number of players: in ascending order. HORUS KHEPRI 2/3 players: take Note: In a two-player game, ANUBIS SEKHMET 1 3+ 4 God tiles 1 to 4 and during the first turn, randomly set 2 + + + leave tile 5 (Thoth) aside one of the God tiles so you in the box. only play with 3 of the 4 tiles. The removed tile will be added back to 5 THOTH the game the following round. + + 4/5 players: take all + 5 God tiles. 4+ player 1 player 2 deck 1 HORUS 2 ANUBIS 3 KHEPRI 4 SEKHMET 5 THOTH + + + + + + 4+ player 3 player 4 3 Shuffle the 4 Form a deck, face-down, with Construction the remaining Construction cards. cards and deal one face-down 5 The last player to have seen a pyramid is to each player. the first player and takes the First Player You may look token as well as the deck at your card. of Construction cards. 4 Gameplay A game plays over 10 rounds during which you build your necropolis. At the end of the 10th round, when everyone has constructed their Pyramid, the game ends and victory points are scored. Note: To keep count of the number of rounds played, count the number of cards in your Pyramid. Gameplay of a Round Each round is made up of the following 5 phases: 1 2 3.a Stock the Quarry Select a God Tile Select a Pair of Construction Cards 3.b 4 Construct your Necropolis End of the Round 1 StocK THE QUARRY The player with the First Player token takes the deck of Construction cards and reveals Construction cards two-by-two to make as many pairs as there are players. The Construction cards must be visible to all players and the pairs must be separated from each other. Pairs revealed this way are inseparable and can never be rearranged. Example For a four-player game, reveal 4 pairs of Construction cards, dealt randomly from the deck, during the Stock the Quarry phase. For a three-player game, you would reveal 3 pairs of Construction cards, and so on. deck 5 2 SELECT A GOD TILE Starting with the first player and going clockwise, choose an available God tile and place it face-up in front of you. God tiles are made up of: HORUS a number indicating the turn order for Phase .a 1 3 “Select a Pair of Construction Cards”, the edifices the owning player can build during Phase 3.b “Construct your Necropolis”. 3.a SELECT A PAIR OF CONSTRUCTION CARDS Starting with the player with the God tile closest to 1, players conduct Phases 3.a and 3.b in ascending order. First choose an available pair of Construction cards from the quarry and add it to your hand. Then go immediately to Phase 3.b “Construct your Necropolis”. ANUBIS Example In a four-player game, you choose the Anubis 2 God tile, numbered 2. You are therefore the second player + to choose your pair of Construction cards in phase 3.a . Go immediately to Phase 3.b “Construct your Necropolis” before the next player chooses a pair of Construction cards. 6 3.b CONSTRUCT YOUR NECROPOLIS Just after choosing a pair of Construction cards and before the next player chooses this pair, place the cards that you have in hand to construct edifices according to the God tile you possess. You can only play one Construction card per edifice on your turn. However, playing construction cards on the Obelisk or Tomb is optional. You may be left with cards at the end of your turn. ANUBIS Example You chose God tile 2 (Anubis). 2 There is a Pyramid and a Tomb on this tile. You + can therefore place a Construction card in your SELECT A PAIR OF CONSTRUCTION CARDS Pyramid and a Construction card in your Tomb. pyramid tomb A Construction card can never be removed, rearranged, or exchanged once you place it in your necropolis. 7 CLARIFICATIONS OF GOD TILES FOR 2 AND 3 PLayeRS HORUS horus ANUBIS Anubis You must add You must add 1 1 Construction 2+ 1 Construction card card to your to your Pyramid Pyramid. You and you may play will have 1 card 1 Construction card at the end of in your Tomb. your turn. KHEPRI khepri SEKHMET sekhmet You must add You must add 3+ 1 Construction 4+ + 1 Construction card card to your to your Pyramid. You Pyramid and may also play 1 card you may play in your Tomb AND 1 Construction 1 card in your Obelisk. card in your You may therefore Obelisk. play up to 3. FOR 4 AND 5 PLayeRS SEKHMET sekhmet THOTH Thoth You must add 5 You must add 4+ / 1 Construction + + 1 Construction card card to your to your Pyramid. You Pyramid. You may also play 1 card may also play in your Tomb AND 4+ 4+ 1 card in your 1 card in your Obelisk. Tomb OR your You may therefore Obelisk. play up to 3. 8 CONSTRUCT YOUR PYRAMID Every round, you must always add one Construction card to your Pyramid by placing it either: Adjacent to a Construction card already played if the current stage of the Pyramid isn’t completed yet. ON 1 OPTION OPTI 2 OR Above two adjacent cards to play in the next stage. At the end of the game, your Pyramid will be composed of 4 stages for a total of 10 Construction cards displayed as follows: 1 Construction Card 2 Construction Cards 3 Construction Cards 4 Construction Cards 9 CONSTRUCT YOUR OBELISK The first card of your Obelisk is played to the right of your Pyramid, leaving a space between the two edifices. Each time you add a Construction card to your Obelisk, place it so it covers the top half of the last card you played. The Construction cards will align without covering the stones. CONSTRUCT YOUR TOMB Cards played in your Tomb are simply played below your Pyramid in a face-down pile. They won’t be revealed until the end of the game, during scoring. You can, at any moment, look at the cards in your Tomb. 4 END OF THE ROUND When all players have placed cards in their necropolis, the round ends. Do the following things: Return all the God tiles to the center of the table. With two players: put back the randomly discarded God tile and remove the God with the next number (1 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 1…). Example If Sekhmet (4) was removed, you now need to remove Horus (1) for the round. There should only be 3 God tiles available at the start of the round. Check that you have at most 1 Construction card in your hand. If you have more than one, discard the extra cards face-up in the box so that you only have 1 Construction card. The player to the left of the first player takes the First Player token.